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The searches were conducted across Bhubaneswar, Balasore, Jajpur and Baliguda, where Vigilance teams also found multiple luxury properties, valuable land holdings and other assets.
Odisha Engineer Baikuntha Nath Behera With Rs 6,000, Starting Salary Found With Crores In Assets During Vigilance Raids. (X)
Baikuntha Nath Behera, an Assistant Executive Engineer (AEE) posted with the Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA) in Baliguda, Odisha’s Kandhamal district, has come under investigation after Vigilance officials allegedly unearthed assets worth crores during searches linked to a disproportionate assets case.
Acting on allegations that Behera possessed wealth beyond his known sources of income, the Odisha Vigilance carried out simultaneous raids at nine locations associated with him on Saturday. The searches covered his residence, ancestral property and office premises, among other locations.
According to Vigilance records, Behera entered government service in 1999 as a junior engineer (civil) at Nabarangpur block with a monthly salary of Rs 6,000.
Over the years, he served in various positions under the ITDA and other government establishments in Nabarangpur and Udala. In October 2016, he was promoted to Assistant Engineer and posted at ITDA, Nabarangpur. Earlier this year, in February 2026, he was elevated to the post of Assistant Executive Engineer and transferred to ITDA, Baliguda, where he is currently posted.
During the raids, officials reportedly discovered substantial assets, including cash, properties, gold and bank deposits.
Among the assets detected were more than Rs 2 crore in cash, around Rs 2.4 crore recovered from his residence and bank lockers, five multi-storey buildings, 13 to 14 high-value plots in and around Bhubaneswar, 341 grams of gold jewellery and bank deposits exceeding Rs 45 lakh.
Officials said the valuation of the buildings is still in progress.
The searches were conducted across Bhubaneswar, Balasore, Jajpur and Baliguda, where Vigilance teams also found multiple luxury properties, valuable land holdings and other financial assets. The operation remains underway.
With luxury real estate, prime plots, large cash recoveries and financial investments under examination, the case is emerging as one of Odisha’s major anti-corruption investigations of the year.
The full extent of the assets is expected to be determined after the completion of the search operation and valuation process.
Confirming the raids, Cell Division Vigilance SP Sushant Kumar Biswal said, “Simultaneous raids were conducted at nine places today (Saturday), including his residential, paternal building and office. We detected five high-rise buildings, 13 valuable plots in and around Bhubaneswar, gold ornaments, cash and bank deposits. Approximately Rs 2.4 crore in hard cash was recovered from his bank locker and house.”
He added that further financial calculations would be shared once the investigation is completed.
(With inputs from agencies)
Odisha (Orissa), India, India
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